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Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Duck Confit

Some barnyard quackers became duck confit this week. I cannot provide a better recipe than Tom Colichhio's from Gramercy Tavern, NY, NY--it is just as done in the old days. Do try, as one reviewer suggests, using rock salt--it is easier to brush off the meat [keep the meat in one layer--using a bowl causes too much liquid to be withdrawn from the flesh and makes for dry confit]. When your duck is cooked, layer the meat in your confit pot and pour in duck fat to cover--it should keep for weeks in your spring house [refrigerator].

NEVER thow out confit fat! Duck fat left from confit adds an unctiousness that is unbeatable in flavoring soups, stews and casseroles. Use it for frying bread for croutons to use in the bottom of bowls for ladling on soups like garbure.

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Explore with me 18thC French cuisine as a habitante in Nouvelle France may have cooked. After the F&I War, and again after the Revolutionary War, habitantes were surrounded and overrun by Anglo and other American influences. By the end of the 18thC, new foods and new methods of cooking would change her culture forever.